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Latest Project Veritas Investigation Draws Ire of Homeland Security

Project Veritas, lead by the intrepid James O'Keefe, released their latest investigation yesterday. This time, a group of guerilla journalists tackled the California Homeless Bill of Rights. Similar to legislation passed in Rhode Island last summer, the California Homeless Bill of Rights passed the judiciary committee with a vote of 7 to 2. The bill means to stop the criminalization of homelessness by allowing the homeless to be wherever they want, whenever they want, or so the lefties believe.

Videographers posing as homeless men visited the homes and offices of assemblymen who sponsored the bill to see if those who claim to support decriminalization of homelessness practice what they preach. Take a look:

The usual followed; upon noticing apparent homeless individuals outside of his residence, one assemblyman alerted the authorities. Or at least that's how it appears, because within minutes law enforcement showed up and asked the videographers to leave. "Get off my lawn" is the new "let them eat cake." While in the public eye, politicians love to wax poetic about the social virtues of their latest legislation, then act differently when their convictions are put to the test. See also, Obamacare. It's elitism at its worst. Government officials who believe they're exempt from the rules they establish for the public are part of a much larger cultural problem: entitlement.

While staking out Assemblyman Ammiano's office in downtown San Francisco, Homeland Security accosted the videographers and threatened their Fourth Amendment rights. In light of the recent scandalpalooza, a DOJ that spies on the press and various other blatant Big Brother offenses, instances like this one become more concerning. To be fair, a quick Google search indicates that there is a federal court building adjacent to the assemblyman's office and of course, filming on federal property is prohibited. But does it warrant the treatment the videographers received?

Aside from the obvious racism of asking the videographers for identification, the undercover reporters were told that if they didn't cough up the video recording, they would be arrested. Common for law enforcement in fascist states, refusal to surrender Fourth Amendment rights is quickly flipped into proof of probable cause. This is an issue that not only affects journalistic endeavors like this one, but seeks to undermine the premise of our justice system, you know, that whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing. Beyond that, these types of encounters are also far too common. Those who attempt to tell the truth are threatened by establishment media and the establshment political class. The result is a gross encroachment of our First Amendment rights. Left unchallenged, this breed of statism is a cancer that will destroy our collective ability to share the truth meanwhile criminalizing those who dare to try. It's getting scary out there, folks.

This is still America, right? We still have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights, correct? Lately, it sure doesn’t seem like it. It seems like we are constantly hearing new stories of our rights being under attack here in America. This week, it’s the Fourth Amendment which is being systematically destroyed.

Dear FreedomWorks member,
As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your Senators and urge them to cosponsor S. 1037, the Fourth Amendment Preservation and Protection Act of 2013. Introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the bill would extend Fourth Amendment guarantees to electronic communications. The Fourth Amendment Preservation and Protection Act is needed to protect against the violations of our Fourth Amendment rights online.

While many Americans were recognizing the solemn events of the Memorial Day Weekend, the inside the beltway Sunday news shows rolled inexorably on. One US Senator used the opportunity to call question the wisdom of one of the most sacred of all liberties that are protected by the Constitution. In a poorly timed attack on the freedoms that the soldiers we honored fought and died for, Dick Durbin questioned the First Amendment protections enjoyed by bloggers and users of social media:

With new details emerging every day about the extent of the IRS targeting of conservative groups, FreedomWorks Creative Manager Matt Battaglia breaks down the timeline of events. Click 'read more' for images!

A weak narrative pushed by administration allies that the IRS was merely doing its job in investigating Tea Party groups in 2010 through 2012 has been all but abandoned, now. Facts having intervened, and it looks like the Obama administration will throw some IRS staff under the bus and hope the scandal ends. It won't, because the problem is not that people were weak, but that government is too strong.

Today on the FreedomCast, author and columnist David Freddoso joins me with the latest news on the Obama Administration’s DOJ scandal, the targeting of journalists who dare to actually do their jobs and how Chicago style politics is putting your First Amendment rights in jeopardy.
Spinmasters - How the Media Ignored the Real News and Helped Reelect Barack Obama